Cheryl Burke recalls the “shame” she felt after contracting COVID-19

Dancing with the Stars pro dancer Cheryl Burke had to sit out Monday night’s episode because she contracted COVID-19, despite being fully vaccinated.

Speaking with E!’s Daily Pop, Burke opened up about how her diagnosis mentally affected her.

“I had all types of feelings,” she expressed. “There was a lot of shame behind it for some reason, disappointed, sad, just hopeless, because you can’t really control the situation.”

Burke and her partner, Peloton instructor Cody Rigsby, were unable to perform live on Monday and, instead, were judged based on a recording of one of their rehearsal dances. The judges praised their routine and the audience voted them through to the next round.

Burke is thankful to have been given a second chance, saying,” I would hate for it just to end, so I’m hoping that I’ll be cleared very soon and maybe just go back to the way it was. I don’t know, we’re taking it day by day.”

Burke also revealed that she’s using every moment of her off-time to make sure she and her “talented” partner stay in the competition. “I’m going to be a dance mom officially and Zooming into those rehearsals, you better believe it,” she laughed.

While she’s still unsure how she contracted COVID-19, Cheryl stressed that her mild symptoms are a testament of the effectiveness of the vaccine.

“I’m thankful that I got my vaccinations and I’m fully vaccinated, so that’s maybe, definitely, probably the reason I’m not in the hospital, god forbid,” she said. “I wanted to be able to share it because I wanted people to understand that it’s still out there. Even if you’re fully vaccinated, just stay safe and be careful and mask up.”